Revelation 13:1  “…I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns…”
Parallel to Daniel 7.  Daniel saw four beasts arising, each representing a ruling power.  The fourth one was the one in control when Christ returns, the last days.  The Antichrist will come from this power.

2  “…beast…was like a leopard…feet were like…a bear…mouth of a lion…dragon gave him his power…”
Aspects of the first three powers which Daniel saw.  Satan, the dragon, will be in control of this government entity.

3  “…I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed”
Daniel sees this as one of the horns which overcomes three of the others.  It has eyes and speaks pompous words against God.  John sees it as one of the heads.  Both appear to be representative of the Antichrist.

4  “…they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast…”
The world will worship not only the Antichrist, but also satan, the power behind him.  I’ve never understood the reasoning behind someone choosing evil over good, satan over God.  It is obvious that God is more powerful, that He will be the ultimate victor in any contest.  Yet people still choose to rebel against Him.  Leaving out the aspect of a relationship with Him, the choice makes no sense on any level.

5  “…he was given authority to continue for forty-two months”
Three and a half years.  The Great Tribulation.

7  “It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them…”
Daniel mentioned this too.  The little horn was making war against the saints and prevailing against them.  Many martyrs from the faith will come from the Great Tribulation.

10  “He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity; he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.”
As terrible as the Great Tribulation will be, God is still in control of it all, and He will make everything right.  The saints may be killed for their faith, but God will take care of those who caused their deaths.  Everything will come out right in the end.

11-18  Another beast which comes up from the land, not the sea.  May mean he comes from within the government of the first beast.  Similar in appearance as the vision John had of Christ at the beginning, meek but he speaks with the power of the dragon.  He supports the first beast and causes all to worship him.  Many believe he represents a religious aspect of the world government.  May be a man or a religion.  I lean more toward a man at the top of the organization.  He is given power to perform miracles similar to those of God’s men.  Sets up an image of the beast much like Nebuchadnezzar did, and causes all to worship it.  Is able to make the image speak.  Institutes the mark that all must have to do business in the world government which amounts to the number 666, DCLXVI.  Number of a man, God being 7, man being less than God or 6.  Everything is a copy of what God does.  Satan tries to imitate God, to sell his false goods as the real, but fails at every point.

I hope you enjoy reading and studying His word.  May it accomplish what He desires.  Please feel free to comment or post questions.  Thanks for reading!

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.